Trans Fats Linked to Colon Cancer

January 1st, 2009

By Nora Simmons

If saving your heart isn’t reason enough to avoid trans fats, how about keeping your colon healthy? New research from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill links high trans-fat intake with increased growth of polyps that can lead to colorectal cancer. Study participants who ate 6.5 grams of trans fats daily were 86 percent more likely to have polyps than those who took in only half that amount. But why put your, ahem, health on the line when experts advise you eliminate trans fats entirely?